10th January 2008
So, the final leg. I managed to damage my finger in the dressing room at the Houston show. I compacted it against a wall whilst pushing back some towels and it really hurt. Infact, as I write nearly four weeks later it still hurts. Probably a hairline fracture apparently, but the show must go on. Nightwish’s crew bus broke down on the way into Houston so they had to be shunted onto a new bus. As it turned out it wouldn’t be the end of their bad luck.
I thought that Texas was very kind to us and I was sad to leave, but I was looking forward to Florida. We had a pretty long drive down to Fort Lauderdale but once again Bill drove like a demon and got us there in good time. I met up with a very old friend of mine who moved out to Florida ten years ago. Steve and I used to go to all the gigs in Manchester together in the 80s and it was great to hang out for the day. We were like Beavis and Butthead again instantly! Fort Lauderdale also provided me with access to Strongbow!!!!! 60 pence a bottle cheaper than England…GET IN!
After the Fort Lauderdale gig Aaron, Fernando and I went for a beer near the gig which was in a mall complex. Several beers after there was an impromptu get together with Nightwish in the hotel car park. There was alot of drinking and bonding. Nightwish’s merch man stood up and fell straight over a bush backwards….lovely stuff! I went to bed at 5am.
I awoke to a very full bus. Nightwish and their luggage were on our bus as now their bus had given up the ghost. Aaron woke up and thought he had gone to sleep on the Nightwish bus until he saw the contents of his own bunk. We cleared a couple of bunks for their guys and I offered Annette my own bunk in an act of chivalry, thinking we must be nearly there. Five hours later we dropped them off in Orlando and I was feeling rather tired after my error of time judgement. Next morning I awoke covered in the glitter that Annette had left on my pillow. I looked like Ziggy bloody Stardust!
After a headline show in Fayetteville we had our final show with Nightwish in Atlanta. Ewo, their manager, was in party mood. He reduced all the merch and by the end of the night was giving it away! I asked him if he would shed a tear when we all parted, his reply was , “Tonight I only cry tears of booze!” I personally felt very sad to say goodbye. It had been a very fast and eventful few weeks and I had really grown to like all the Nightwish lot. We didn’t have time to celebrate the end of our run together as we had a long drive to our next show, so we said our goodbyes and off we went into the night.
Our final headline run took us back to Jaxx’s in Springfield where we had played five weeks earlier, New York and finally to a snowy Bedford New Hampshire, for me aptly near Manchester Airport, but not the one I would have liked. On that run New York was an obvious highlight. The Highline Ballroom it is a fantastic new venue and was a pleasure to play. Although crowds were smaller on our headline run the fans who came were really fanatical and loud. And as the final crash cymbal punctuated the end of Say Just Words in Bedford we finished the US tour.
Next day, as the bus wound its way through New York across to JFK I sat in the back lounge on my own, as I had done alot on the tour, watching New York pass me by. The skyline, the Bronx, the bridge it is an amazing place. I reflected on an amazing six weeks. Many highs, some lows but definitely one of the best experiences of my life.
So you’ve met all the characters, I thank them for all their efforts. I thank Nightwish and their clan and I thank you for letting me know how much you have enjoyed these warblings.